Overwatch 2 players sick of ‘automatic losses’ as teammates aren’t replaced

Overwatch 2 players are finding themselves stuck with only four players on their team for long periods of time in Quick Play, with no sign of anyone filling in to resolve the issue.

Overwatch 2 introduced a ban system for Quick Play in Season 8 to try and battle the issue with leavers. Competitive has always had the system in place, but Blizzard found that players were leaving Quick Play very often, which can disrupt gameplay for the rest of the team. 

The system has left fans divided, with some feeling that the ban system for Quick Play is a bit harsh. While it makes sense for Competitive, Quick Play does not affect your rating in the same way. 

Now, though, players have come across a more annoying issue. When someone leaves their Quick Play game, Overwatch is struggling to find a player to fill the spot. This means players are stuck in 4v5 matchups for the rest of the game. 

“If someone leaves just before the match starts, for some god-forsaken reason, the matchmaking algorithm cannot find another person out of the allegedly millions to fill that role,” Redditor ‘tsundokume’ said in a post. “For the entire match. So you [get] locked into a 4v5 which might as well be an automatic L.” 

It seems that this is a bug in Overwatch 2 that is yet to be addressed. This did not sit well with other fans, either, as it had been an issue for seasons before the leave penalty was introduced. 

“A bug in the shop is fixed in like 12 minutes. But god forbid when it’s actually a game breaking bug that locks you out of a fair matchup. It happened five times this evening, and many many times before that. It’s been weeks,” a player commented. 

This particular bug can be game-breaking, because being stuck in a game with a player missing is devastating to the team. Especially if the leaver was your tank – which only has one spot to fill in Overwatch 2. 

Blizzard has not mentioned anything about fixing the issue yet, but we will be sure to keep you updated with any changes that come. 

For more on Overwatch 2, read about Overwatch 1 features players want back and the best counters for each Tank hero.